Friday, February 12, 2010

Shortbread Cookies

Some friends of mine hosted a candy party so I wanted to try and make twix. Then, the day I needed to start making stuff, I was not in the mood for chocolate. So my twix became shortbread cookies topped with caramel and pecans. I have a recipe for making a caramel sauce which I have done many times, but I’ve been cutting down on my soy intake and used the soy-free Earth Balance margarine and Coconut creamer, instead of soy version. Once you combine all the ingredients, you allow them to boil for quite awhile, so that way when it cools it will harden. The soy-free ingredient versions took a lot longer to boil down, so the caramel sauce ended up being softer than I intended. The cookies were great, but I do need to work more of the caramel recipe before sharing.

The shortbread cookies did turn out nicely, so I would love to share this recipe. The cookies can be rolled out and cut into rectangles or squares, as I did, or you can use a cookie cutter and get different shapes. You can also decorate these cookies with frosting and sprinkles if desired, to liven up the cookies. They are really good on their own as well.

Cream together the sugar and margarine. Add the vanilla and beat together some more. Add the flour and salt and mix until incorporated.

Form the dough into two balls and refrigerate one as you work on the other. Roll the ball out to ¼-inch thickness. Cut the dough into squares, or cut with cookie cutters. Place dough on a cookie sheet at bake at F for about 10-15 minutes. Baking time will vary depending on the size of the cookie. It should just start to brown on the sides of the cookie.

Another option to cut the cookies: Instead of rolling out the dough, form the dough into a long log. Slice the dough into ¼-inch disks and place on cookie sheet and bake as directed.

I do plan to share a Twix recipe in the future using this recipe as the cookie base once I perfect the soy-free caramel sauce. Yay!

Thanks for sharing the recipe! I've switched to vegan diet several months ago and used to have strong sweets cravings. Imagine my surprise when I've discovered that you don't have to sacrifice your favorite chocolate bars if vegan! Thank you, the caramel recipe is delicious as well!Kathleen, free mov to avi converter

i used brown rice syrup instead of corn syrup. and it could obviously be made soyfree. i think i used coconut bliss creamer once and mimicreme another time, and both were great. flv converter to mov mac